| When | Mood | Music |
| 2005-09-10 23:34:00 |
The task: to install Mac OS 8·1 from an installer CD on a powerbook 2300c which has no functional OS on its hard disk.
The equipment: powerbook 520, powerbook 2300c, powerbook G3 Pismo, external SCSI 1x CD-ROM drive
The issues:
- I don’t have installer floppies for the 2300c.
- The installer floppies for the 520 (OS 7·5) are too early for the 2300c.
- The CD drive doesn’t have a mac boot ROM and so cannot be used as a startup device.
- The 2300c refuses to start up as an external SCSI disk on the Pismo.
- I don’t have the physical means to connect the 520’s and 2300c’s SCSI ports.
The workaround:
- Attach the CD drive to the 520, then mount Norton Utilities V3·5 CD.
- Expand the Norton Speed Disk image from this CD onto a floppy.
- Dump the Speed Disk application from the floppy.
- Copy the Finder from the Norton Utilities CD’s system folder.
- Create a system folder on the floppy.
- Put the rest of the files on the floppy into it.
- Create an Extensions folder within the floppy’s system folder.
- Because I don’t have both extensions for the CD drive on the 520 (so I’m not sure why the drive currently works with the 520 just now) but I do have them on my “mac stuff” folder on the Pismo, email them to myself. (OK, I could have connected the 520 and the Pismo by ethernet but my router/hub is in my lounge and the laptops were in my bedroom. I didn’t have another long ethenet cable and I couldn’t be arsed carrying either of them around and guddling with short cables. Nor could I be arsed with getting file-sharing going on the 520.)
- Set up the 520 to receive email via ethernet and receive the CD extensions.
- Copy the CD extensions to the Extensions on the floppy.
- Shut down the 520 and detatch the CD drive.
- Attach the CD drive to the 2300c.
- Start up the 2300c from the floppy I’ve created.
- Mount the OS 8·1 CD and start the install rigmarole…
update: the OS installation took a further 2 hours
